Page 12 of The Last Bachelor Dragon

Her heart sank as a feeling of dread slowly settled over her. She’d been lucky so far that Max hadn’t figured out who she was. A group of his friends spelled disaster; one of them was sure to recognize her. But looking up at him, she realized there was no way to get out of it. He had her trapped. She could only hope that they were the rich, snotty kind of people who didn’t pay any attention to the help.

“I get the message,” she said, trying to hide her frustration. “You want me to fawn all over your rich, stuck-up friends, fine, I’ll do it. I don’t really have any choice, do I?”

“Nope, you don’t,” Max said, smiling triumphantly. I’ll see you bright and early for breakfast tomorrow. I expect you to be ready by eight o’clock when Simon and Kira get here.”

She wanted to slap the grin off his face, but kept her hands firmly at her side, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her lose her cool. “Yes, sir, anything you say, sir,” she sneered at him. “Will there be anything else?”

“Don’t push me, Nora,” he growled at her. “You might push me over the edge, and I don’t think you’d like that very much.”

“Try me,” she shot back, then took a step back when his eyes began to simmer with something that looked a lot like desire. Her heart suddenly pounded for a different reason.

Max closed the distance between them in only a few steps, then stood looking down at her, his entire body tense, then shook his head and backed away. “I think one of us needs to be the mature one and step back,” he said, his husky voice sending shivers up and down her spine. “Have a good evening, Nora.”

CHAPTER 8

***MAX***

Max stood on the dock watching as the boat cut across the crystal blue water of the harbor, the warm sunshine almost making him forget that he had a heap of trouble on his hands. It hadn’t been that long since he’d seen all his friends, but it had been years since they’d all be together, and he was sure that the coming weeks would be interesting as they all got to know each other all over again. He wondered if they would all slip back into the same roles they’d had back when they were in college or if they’d all changed so much everything would be different.

Thinking back over the time his friends had all spent on the island, he couldn’t decide which one of them had changed the most. They’d all found women who supported and loved them; they’d all faced obstacles that made them stronger men, and he was the only one left still waiting. He couldn’t help but wonder what it was he was supposed to change, what in him was lacking that a woman in his life could make up for. Not that he thought he was perfect, he knew he had his faults.

Realizing that his thoughts were going down a trickypath, he looked out at the water, pleased to see the boat was almost to the dock. He spotted Simon first, holding the baby on his lap, a huge smile on his face as she laughed and bounced around, clearly loving the ride. Kira was sitting next to them, her head tilted back to let the breeze flow through her hair, her face relaxed, and he felt a moment of gratitude that he had friends who cared enough to drop everything to help him.

When the boat got closer, he spotted Cameron and Kennedy sitting on the other side of the deck. Pleased that they’d connected with Simon and Kira, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and fired off a message to Nora. He waited anxiously for the boat to pull into the slip, grabbed the dock line when Montgomery threw it to him, and secured the vessel to the dock.

“Look who I found waiting around at the marina for me,” Montgomery said, a delighted smile on his face. “Now I won’t have to make that second trip back over to Bermuda.”

“Anything we can do to help,” Cameron said, guiding Kennedy up the dock. “I’ve got a hungry pregnant woman on my hands here. I hope breakfast is next on the agenda.”

“Cameron…stop that…I’m not that hungry,” Kennedy said, then turned to Max. “We managed to get an earlier flight, I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. I’m relieved to see you. Everyone else will be here this afternoon,” he said, giving Kennedy a hug. How are you feeling?”

“Other than being hungry all the time, I feel just fine,” Kennedy said. “But it’s still early yet. I’m sure there’s still lots of fun to come.”

He turned to Kira. "It's a good thing you’ve got someone who knows what it’s all about,” he said. How are you, Kira?”

“No complaints from me either, compared to Kiley, this has been an easy baby,” Kira said. “It was sweet of you to ask.”

“We’re family, I worry about you all,” Max said. “And I think now I should feed you all.”

“Trust me when I tell you that’s a very good idea,” Simon said. “Letting these two get hungry would be a huge mistake.”

“Hey, watch yourself, mister,” Kira said. “You’ll be sleeping on the couch if you’re not careful.”

“Yes, my love,” he said, planting a big kiss on her cheek. “Anything you say.”

“That’s better,” Kira said, making everyone laugh. “Now, did you say something about food?”

“Coming right up,” he said. I’ve reserved the small banquet room for us. Breakfast and lunch will be available for everyone there every day. Dinners will be up to you, but you’ve all been here, so you know what’s available.”

As soon as they left the dock, Cameron fell into step beside him. “Do we know what Adaloni has planned?” he asked. “The clan has pledged their help; all you have to do is ask.”

He looked over at Cameron, surprised by the offer. “Things have changed,” his friend said, shrugging his shoulders. If I’m going to rule the clan, I’m going to do it my way. Your problems are our problems.”

“Thanks, that means a lot,” he said. “But I think the eight of us can handle one little drug dealer, don’t you?”

Cameron grinned. “Sounds like fun to me,” he said. “And who knows, the island may give us a little help.”

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